Hello! It's my first post:)

Hi,
I just joined this forum for my wife and I to help deal with both the physical and financial part of having a TBI. It happened in 1993 when I was 15 years old. My parents were driving and I was in the back seat heading back from Lake Erie. We were almost home when all of a sudden a car ran a stop sign and hit right where I was sitting. We were in a mini van so everyone turned out to be ok afterward, but I was ejected from the mini van. My right ear was chopped off and my right side of my head was bashed in pretty good. They found me laying on the side of the road and I wasn't awake at all. They thought I was dead at first then I started moving and wanting up. It took two people to hold me down until the ambulance arrived. I was then air lifted up to the Medical College of Ohio where they put me under to reattach my ear. When I woke up, I had no idea what had transpired or how I even got there. My parents were waiting there for me and they told me what had transpired. They never told me though at the time I had a TBI.

I graduated high school, the grades could have been better (was an A and B student before the accident), went to college, got married to a wonderful women, and eventually got a job after I got my Bachelor Degree. In 2008 though, I learned after I had a mental breakdown (due to job pressures) that I had a TBI and that was why I was having headaches, uncontrollable emotions, etc. I have tried off and on to maintain my career but every time I would try, I would eventually loose each job due to the TBI and my inability to control the symptoms or them finding out that I had one. I am now waiting for the Social Security office to get back with me on my application for disability.

I am also wondering if there are other resources out there that could help us get me at least getting some income coming in. I am very smart and have lots of talents I can give to a company but with the social stigma of those with TBI's out there, how do some of you do it?